About VEI: Women's Global Edition

The Visa Everywhere Initiative is a global innovation program that tasks start-ups to solve payment challenges of tomorrow, further enhance their own product propositions and provide visionary solutions for Visa's vast network of partners.

And for the first time ever, Visa has created the Visa Everywhere Initiative: Women’s Global Edition.

The global program invited women entrepreneurs from around the world to tackle FinTech and Social Impact challenges for a chance to win $100,000 in each of the two challenges. The program will culminate with a Finals Event the day of the opening match of FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™.

Submissions are now closed.

2019 Fintech challenge

Challenge question

Prize structure

Visa has selected one semifinalist per region to travel to Paris for the opportunity to pitch their solution live at the Finals Event and attend the opening match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™. The overall grand prize winner of the Fintech challenge will receive $100,000 USD plus a potential opportunity to run a pilot with Visa and/or a Visa client.

Fintech semifinalists

We’re thrilled to announce the six semifinalists in the Fintech challenge category. Good luck to all of them.

Annicelle Kungne, France

WeCashUp enables e-commerce companies in 36 African countries.

Eynat Guez, Israel

Papaya Global offers total workforce management in over 100 countries.

Stéphanie Fleury, Brazil

DinDin offers financial services to unbanked people and companies in Latin America.

Garima Satija, India

Laura Spiekerman, USA

2019 Social Impact challenge

Challenge question

How can women entrepreneurs around the world drive social impact by supporting sustainable and equitable livelihoods and strengthening local/regional economies?

Prize structure

Visa has selected one finalist per region to travel to Paris for the opportunity to pitch their solution live at the Finals Event and attend the opening match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™. The overall grand prize winner of the Social Impact challenge will receive $100,000 USD.

Social Impact semifinalists

Congratulations to all six of our semifinalists in the Social Impact challenge category.

Isabelle Mashola, France

Isahit is a socially responsible, outsourcing platform for African businesses.

Mireia Badia, Spain

Grow.ly is a P2B platform that connects SMEs looking for loans with lenders.

Fernanda Vicente, Chile

Mujeres del Pacífico works with female entrepreneurs in Latin America.

Prize Money

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Program history of Visa’s Everywhere Initiative

Scroll through to see the history of Visa's Everywhere Initiative from the beginning to present

November 2017: LAC VEI Finals in Miami

10 finalists from 5 different Latin American countries competed to win the VEI LAC finals at Finnovista fintech conference in Miami. These finals consisted of 3 days of workshops and mentoring sessions for the participating startups before the final pitches.

October 2017: MENA VEI Finals in Dubai

Working to solve challenges around Airport Transit, Acceptance, and Loyalty, 190 startups competed in the VEI MENA challenge. Finalists came from across the Middle East and North Africa region to the finals in Dubai.

June 2017: VEI live at Money 20/20 Europe

Following an announcement at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Visa launched the first European competition and hosted the finals in Copenhagen at Money 20/20 Europe. 197 startups submitted to pitch to Visa executives to take home the trophy and prize.

August 2016: VEI expands to Australia and New Zealand

With 90 startups across 3 different challenges, Visa’s Everywhere Initiative launched with the fifteen finalists pitching in Sydney in September 2016. Specific challenges focused on solving consumer and commercial business problems with Visa APIs.

May 2016: VEI goes global

Just a few months after the conclusion of the second US competition, VEI launched internationally with a competition in China, receiving over 100 submissions. Challenges included Engaging the next Generation of Consumers, Connecting with Cardholders, and Driving Cross-Border and Ecommerce Usage.

March 2015: VEI Launches

The first Visa Everywhere Initiative launched in the US with 398 applicants, challenging startups with objectives around Inspiring Millennials, Rewarding Members, and Digital Commerce. See below to view the 2015 winners or keep scrolling to learn more about VEI’s history.